Introduction
The author migrated from Vietnam to the United States in 1975 due to political conflicts. She was only eight years old when the family relocated to Michigan. The book talks about cultural conflicts that existed in the US at the time.
It is reported that the author was confused between choosing to embrace her own culture and adopting the new lifestyle exhibited by Americans. Her grandmother prepared traditional foods while the American society consumed junk food, which was consumed by ‘real people’.
Through analysis, it can be observed that the author was ambitious to adopt the American culture, which was perceived to be strong. The author developed a passion for American food mainly because of the style used to prepare it.
In her traditional culture, foods such as spring rolls and delicate pancakes were common. To be viewed as a real American, the author had to embrace some foods in her life such as Pringles, Kit Kats and many more.
The book starts by narrating how the family of the author migrated from Saigon in 1975 to Michigan. The book picks up in subsequent sections to give the details of life experienced by an immigrant. This paper would therefore try to evaluate the tenets of the book in order to comprehend its effects on the views of Americans as regards to immigrants.
The book would also be evaluated to come up with a personal view as regards to the growth of Asian-American population in the US. The essay first gives the synopsis of the book in order to understand the viewpoint of the author.
Synopsis of the Book
In part one, the author narrates how life was immediately her family arrived from Vietnam. She notes that the family arrived in Michigan unprepared, which forced the sponsor to find a place for the family to live. Apart from the residential premise, the sponsor had also to find some food for the family.
The food was American implying that it was unfamiliar to the family. The father was offered employment in order to earn a living for the family. The author goes ahead to narrate how it was difficult to cope with the climate that was extremely cold.
The writer expresses concern over the type of life that the extended family lived. The house was small and the family did not have sufficient food to consume. This was a problem to the father since he could not sleep. In other words, the writer notes that life was hard. After sometime, an American company producing paint and specializing in tool making employed one of the family members.
Even though life was difficult for these foreigners, they could afford some luxury goods to their children. The author notes that the sister controlled all toys meaning that some luxury goods were also available in the house. The author contrasts this luxury with a devastating state of affairs when she claims that the father competed with the uncles for pillows and comforters.
Cultural differences started showing up when Mrs. Heidenga served the Author’s father and her uncle. The author notes that the father lamented heavily since Mrs. Heidenga served them with raw hamburgers. At this stage, the writer revisits the family history by observing that the family left Vietnam when she was very young.
The activities that took place in the state forced the locals to run away from their country. The Communists had won the war, which meant that the community had to undergo political re-socialization. For that case, the community had to be introduced to new rules regarding communist ideas.
The communist regime threatened to execute political opponents and sympathizers of capitalism. This had already happened to the author’s grandfather. Due to this tribulation, the author notes that Americans decided to intervene in order to save the lives of various children.
However, this program was unsuccessful since the first plane carrying children crashed at the Son Nhut air base, killing many people. The author’s father decided to employ alternative option after noting that migrating to the US through the program would be difficult.
The father arranged for an alternative means after realizing that air transport was risky. The family struggled to migrate to the US since conditions were unfavorable. Many people wanted to quit Vietnam due to war and the conquering of the South but there were no escape routes.
The author’s father used his friends who served in the military to help his family get out of Vietnam. The journey was not easy since the immigrants had no food and water while in the ship. The family was introduced to an American food when the American soldiers provided apples to the refugees on board.
The author’s father is described as a social man since he could make friends easily. For instance, he convinced the cooks to provide him with some food that he took to his two daughters. Furthermore, he sweat talked the soldiers by showing them how to play poker in exchange for powdered milk for his daughters (Nguyen 12).
In the Forbidden Fruit part, the author narrates the life of her father, especially how he related to other refugees. The Vietnamese made efforts to send letters back home. Others concentrated on coming up with their own culture that would distinguish them from other members of society.
For instance, the author notes that other Vietnamese could travel to Canada to acquire Chinese rice and even come with seeds that would march those found in their homeland. The names of such plants could not be translated to English meaning that they were purely Vietnamese. Through food, the foreigners could express thanks to their ancestors by offering sacrifices using the Buddha statue (Nguyen 21).
Analysis of the Book
Own View
Nguyen explains the role of Asian Americans in the development of American culture. The writer explores the experiences of Asians in America in relation to their historical awareness, sex roles, traditions and race. He refers to the white race as the mainstream, which is used by the society to gauge individual capability (21).
The society tends to erect some barriers to individuals who do not follow the laid down regulations. This type of arrangement is detrimental to human life and exists to subjugate and oppress some members of society. The society encourages the minority race to join the mainstream implying that the white race is superior. Nguyen shows that modern America is a product of struggle between the minorities and various forms of injustices.
The minority have contributed too much to socio-political and economic development of America. Presenting American history as a struggle between white and black race would therefore be irrational. The best way of presenting American character is by viewing it as a diverse and manifold society.
It is from the activities of minorities that America is what it is today. Slavery could not have been abolished were it not for the activities of the blacks and subsequent Civil War between the Northerners and Southerners. Egalitarianism and human rights could not have been granted were it not for women and other minorities engaging tirelessly in conflicts with colonialists. The author seems to neglect this fact in his analysis.
Many things have taken place in America, which calls for insightful investigation to uncover all aspects. Even though racism has always taken a centre stage, it is not the only way of presenting American character. Asians have undergone many problems in America but few researches talk about them.
The Chinese have variously been branded as bandits due to production of cheap goods. Japanese on the other hand suffer from money laundering labeling. This shows that each group has its own concerns in the wider society. Asian/white binary is just one of the mediums of presenting American character.
Throughout American history, women have suffered most. Societal structure discriminated women against all social benefits such as employment, political participation and economic supremacy. The author does not talk about this in her analysis. Until recently, women were not allowed to join certain fields or professions in the labor market.
Such expert fields were reserved for men. During the 1930s recession, women proved their worth but still they were not fully appreciated in society. After the World Wars, women capitalized on the president’s speech to demand for equal representation and participation in politics.
The president declared that the war was meant to bring democracy and equality. Through feminine organizations, many historical events have been set. Language use in the modern society is neutral meaning that women need not to adopt male names upon marriage. Legislations have been passed aiming at protecting the rights of women. This proves that the American history is not about race only, as observed by the author.
The issue of allocation of resources has threatened to divide Americans in the past. The poor have not been allowed to participate in production fully. The rich have acquired the state, which they use to prevent the poor from revolting against the status quo.
Recent studies confirm that the gap between the bourgeoisie and the proletariat is widening. The less fortunate from time to time have risen up to challenge their position in society. This is another area of concern confirming that American history is diverse, contrary to what the author views.
After the war, each person was treated with honor just as Nguyen could note because each laborer received a wage that was commensurate to his/her work. Furthermore, America became a free society where each person, including the Asians could participate in elections.
Any person was free to vie for any political office as long as he or she qualified. Discrimination based on race or ethnicity was no longer an issue to those seeking leadership in society. The state could not attempt to erect barriers that would temper with individual fulfillment.
The state could only act as a utility that oversaw individual realization. It is upon this strength that Americans decided to trust leadership with an individual from another race. Everybody voted for Obama. He was not discriminated in anyway because the constitution provides stricter measures against racial discrimination. No country boosts of cultural diversity than the US.
Views of Others
As Nguyen could suggest, American society is more structured in terms of culture. The white culture is believed to be powerful. Therefore, other races are urged to assimilate. This is a problem because voters are convinced to vote on tribal and racial lines. This means that an individual must command a huge racial following for him/her to emerge winner in any election.
This happens mostly in state politics where races or tribes elect representatives. It is not surprising that the majority of senators and governors are whites. This has a profound effect because elected leaders influence the system to appoint their cronies and relatives to key government positions.
Other races such as the Asian race are left struggling because they do not have the means of accessing government. Whites capture all major positions meaning that policies made will always favor them. Recently, the state of Arizona passed an immigration policy that sought to lock out other races from financial privileges.
The white race would benefit because it has representatives in government. The federal government has been adamant because most affected members are not whites. Since whites are not affected, no representative of federal government will attempt to complain.
Students have been affected because they are forced to stay without their parents. Their parents moved to other states without biased the immigration law. This shows that American character cannot be explained in terms of a single conflict.
In the recent Arizona conflict, Mexicans are affected most because the state borders Mexico. Mexicans are said to be encroaching to American land although the truth is that they pose a security threat to some whites. Mexicans give whites a stiff competition, which have prompted the enactment immigration law in Arizona.
Formation of class and subjugation of some members of society is another weakness of American character. There is a conflict between the owners of means of production and the poor. The poor produce goods that they do not consume. They produce goods for the market.
The bourgeoisie have formulated some policies that do not allow the worker to think about his/her future. Workers are forced to work hard in order to acquire basic needs. The bourgeoisie acquires the state and other important societal objects such as the media to influence the worker.
The state does not come up with stern measures that can solve labor problems. Workers are alienated from their societal roles because of workload. Capitalistic society is a man eats man society because the rich uses the poor to enrich themselves. Workers are exploited to an extent that they are only left with time for exercising animal related activities such as eating, sleeping and procreating.
Finally, there is a conflict between the youth and the aristocrats. Power is concentrated in the hands of the rich while the youth are left suffering. It is not surprising that people who have reached retirement age are still trusted with leadership in society while the young people are neglected.
Politicians have been accused of using youths to enrich themselves politically. The old bourgeoisie is keen with the way he/she spends resources. The new bourgeoisie is liberal, something that does not go down well with the rich. This big conflict has threatened to divide America into two. Therefore, the author manages to explain the lives of foreigners in the US, as well as how they cope with the challenges.
Works Cited
Nguyen, Minh. Stealing Buddha’s Dinner. New York, NY: Penguin, 2008. Print.